As they approached the mountain road, the carriage began to rattle.
There was not a strong shock transmitted to the inside of the carriage. Since shock absorption magic was applied, the people inside could be comfortable without feeling any vibrations.
It was nice to watch the landscape from the window.
Contrary to the current world, the green grass and open sky were a nice setting for a picnic.
However, unlike the weather outside, the people inside the carriage didn’t seem that happy, especially the woman with brown hair.
Even in a comfortable outfit, her hands were gathered slightly above her knees, giving her an elegant appearance.
“Sister.”
Across from her sat a cute little girl who gave off a tomboyish look. The girl seemed to be around sixteen, and she looked at the other woman with sadness.
“It will be fine.”
“Uh.”
Rebecca smiled and nodded at Ash’s words.
But she didn’t seem happy.
“Thank you for being concerned. I am fine.”
“Then I’m glad.”
Ash, however, was still worried about Rebecca.
Her sister endured the pain she was going through alone because she didn’t want others to worry.
It would have been better if she said something. Ash sighed inwardly.
It was obvious that if she let out a sigh, her sister would feel bad for no reason.
“But do we really need to have an escort?”
As a way to divert the topic, Ash brought up the topic of the Ran warriors, whom they would soon meet.
“It isn’t that we are weak for us to be escorted, and I don’t know, but I think it would make the atmosphere awkward.”
“They must be good people.”
“Other than being good people, it’s much more comfortable if we are on our own.”
Rebecca smiled.
“Well, it is uncomfortable to hang out with people we don’t know.”
“Yes. Still, they are the ones who are coming to protect us. There may also be unexpected risks that might appear.”
“With your sister here, that wouldn’t happen.”
“It isn’t like you can use Elquines’s power for a long time .”
It wasn’t a mistake, so Ash just pouted her lips.
Her older sister was the best Elementalist in the human world, and even though she hadn’t even reached adulthood yet, she had signed a contract with the Water Spirit King.
Considering that even among the High Elves, only a handful could summon the Spirit Kings, it was amazing.
And it was said that Elquines, the Water Spirit King, hasn’t signed a contract with anyone until now.
Even if it was a High Elf born with the best affinity.
The problem was that holding on to the summoned Spirit King was tough.
“Because if we are with the Ran warriors, the chance of success is much higher. It is safer to let them escort us. No one knows what will happen.”
“Right.”
“We have to go there and find out.”
They were currently heading for the World Tree to save the dying tree.
That was the reason why their expressions continued to be sour. As Elementalists, they knew how important the World Tree was.
And they were informed that such an important tree was on the verge of dying.
Aside from the fact that the current world is in chaos, if the World Tree couldn’t be saved, the world would surely perish.
“It will turn out fine.”
“It should be. Hopefully.”
Rebecca looked out the window again as a look of sorrow flashed across her face.
During the two days left before the people they had to escort would arrive, Sarah continued to think about the sword.
She had received advice from several warriors and would swing her sword because of what Hasyath told her.
‘One step.’
She realized that coming this far and learning the sword was meaningless. Karlovan, who was in charge of her training, also listened to Hasyath’s words, deeply sympathized with her, and allowed her to train alone.
She was training alone, but she didn’t know what to do. That was why she was wielding her sword in a trance.
“Difficult.”
Many trees had fallen around her. The sharply cut appearance of all of them proved that Sarah’s swordsmanship skills had improved much more than before.
However, all of it seemed to be within the range of an expert. It wasn’t a skill close to a Master.
“Hmm.”
Sarah returned the sword to its stick form, realizing there was no point in swinging it any further.
“What if I cannot reach it in my lifetime?”
Her obsession to be strong had grown so much that she felt uneasy as she leaned back on a tree.
When she heard about it from Hasyath, she had a feeling that it would be soon, but ever since she swung the sword alone, she was no longer sure. It seemed that this was why sometimes that one step couldn’t be reached.
“How did Dad and Brother become Masters?”
Her father, Count Welton, was a Grand Master who wouldn’t be defeated by the Ran warriors, and her brother, Jamie, was a swordmaster.
And it was the same with her grandfather, whom she saw in portraits, and their ancestors.
Of course, there were people who hadn’t reached the Master level, and now Sarah was afraid that she would turn out like them.
She had heard many times that she was born with great talent, but she was unable to get closer to the monsters around her.
“As expected, there is no right answer other than being consistent.”
In the first place, wanting to become a swordmaster in a short time was greedy.
If it were easy, then everyone would have been able to do it.
In the end, there was just one way.
Sarah lived her life without giving up, so she was confident that she could do it better than anyone else.
But it was her mother that she was worried about.
‘To protect mother, I cannot just stop here.’
Meeting with her brother was only secondary now. For her, her mother, Sears, was more important.
Sarah turned the stick into a sword and thought about swinging it once more.
It was when she was about to swing it again, when…
“Eh~”
Mero’s voice came from afar. Sarah frowned slightly and looked back.
She narrowed her eyes at Mero, who approached her with an awkward smile.
“Hahaha. Still angry?”
“Is there work?”
“Is it necessary for us to work so we can talk?”
“That is why I am asking. What is it?”
“It’s time for the guests to arrive.”
“Ah, they are almost here?”
Hearing that the people they would have to escort to the World Tree have almost arrived, Sarah’s eyes went wide.
“Uh. Let’s go quickly.”
“You don’t know who they are?”
“Well. I never asked.”
“It would be nice if a person with a good heart comes. It has been so long since I’ve been with a human.”
Sarah said, looking excited.
After living with a different race for a while, she was a little excited at the thought of meeting humans. Actually, both the Rans and Mayatrey weren’t much different from humans, so she didn’t feel comfortable at all, but they weren’t of the same culture or tradition.
There were quite a few things that were different from humans.
“I hope they are good people.”
“What could go wrong? And they probably aren’t crazy people who will harm us just because they are not good people. It’s not like we were hired. We are just doing this because we were asked to.”
As Mero said, they weren’t hired. They were asked, so if they were mean, the Rans could also act mean.
Besides, weren’t they one of the top three races?
No matter how much stronger humans have gotten, they still can’t be compared to the Rans.
And right now, even for those who were wondering if the Sun Church’s warriors were the best, it was all because of the ambushes they did and not head-on battles.
They were even taken down by Hasyath. But even if it weren’t for Hasyath, if they had fought until the end, the Ran warriors would have won.
So it was the same.
“There is nothing to worry about.”
“Actually, I have other concerns.”
“Hmm?”
“Don’t mess with them the way you do with me. You might scratch their temper.”
“…”
Mero didn’t answer back.
She could see a carriage from afar.
Sarah waited for the carriage, looking excited. On the other hand, she was curious.
What were they going to do once they arrive at the World Tree?
She heard that only a few people had ever been to the World Tree.
This was only possible because the High Elves belonged to the Demon King’s army, and if the world was the same as in the past, this would have never happened.
“They must be great people, right?”
“Isn’t that the case for humans? It is rare for them to be invited to the World Tree by the others.”
The ‘others’ meant the High Elves.
The Rans seemed to view the High Elves as such. Sarah also sympathized with it.
She hadn’t seen them, but just hearing about them from the elves she had worked with made her feel like they were more naïve. And Mero turned that naivety into ‘others.’
Of course, she had to see them herself to know.
The carriage stopped right in front of them.
There were a total of three carriages, and six knights, who seemed very loyal and were guarding the carriage. However, the patterns engraved on the armor of the knights were familiar.
It was a pattern of a falcon that she had seen a few times.
‘I’ve seen it somewhere.’
Sarah tilted her head.
She was sure she had seen it before, but she couldn’t remember it well.
“Have you ever seen the pattern that looks like a hawk?”
“Is this your first time seeing it?”
Seeing how Mero answered, it didn’t seem like the Rans knew about it. One of the escorting knights got off the carriage and walked to the middle.
When the door opened, two women slowly came down, and Sarah was shocked.
“Sisters!!”
The two women were Rebecca and Ash, and as they were getting down, they turned their heads at the voice. A girl was jumping among the tall Ran warriors.
“It is me!! Me!!!”
“Hm?”
Ash tilted her head.
It was a bit odd to see a child that she didn’t know waving her hand.
Rebecca made it less obvious, but she was still embarrassed.
At that time, Endairon, a high-ranking Water Spirit who guarded her, spoke.
And it was a voice only Rebecca could hear.
-The child from that time.
‘Child? You’ve seen her?’
When Rebecca asked, Endairon said,
-The second child of the Welton Family. Although her appearance has changed quite a lot, it is her.
Rebecca’s eyes widened as she turned to the girl waving her hand.
She had short hair that only reached her neck, a fairly strong body, and a face that had a few scars, probably from the rough time she went through, but her large eyes and clear features were definitely familiar.
“Sarah…?”
“What?”
Ash looked at Rebecca as she mumbled.
“Sarah, Ash. Sarah Welton. That child.”
“… Uh?”
Ash’s eyes widened as well.
“Sarah? For real?”
“Sisters!!”
Sarah called out to the two shocked girls and ran for the carriage. Ash also ran to her with a happy face.
Rebecca followed Ash, controlling her emotions as much as she could.
She never thought she would meet Sarah Welton here. They hugged each other.
Seeing this, Endairon mumbled,
-It must be fate.
He thought this was a miracle and wondered if it was a coincidence. On their way to the World Tree, they rekindled an old relationship—one that wasn’t ordinary.
-The younger sibling of the Demon King.
Was it a coincidence?
Maybe something would happen on this journey.
The High Spirit thought so.
